''What-a-Mess'' is a series of children's books written by British comedy writer

Frank Muir Frank Herbert Muir (5 February 1920 – 2 January 1998) was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wr ...

and illustrated by Joseph Wright. The title character is a dishevelled, accident-prone

Afghan Hound The Afghan Hound is a hound distinguished by its thick, fine, silky coat, and a tail with a ring curl at the end. The breed originates in the cold mountains of Afghanistan. Its local name is () or (). Other names for this breed are Tāzī, Balkh ...

puppy, whose real name is Prince Amir of Kinjan. The book series was later made into two animated series, both narrated by Muir.

Characters

* What-a-Mess – a scruffy Afghan puppy who is the main character of the franchise. His real name is Prince Amir of Kinjan. He has a yellow duck sitting on top of his head. In the US version, What-A-Mess is voiced by

Ryan O'Donohue Ryan Sean O'Donohue (born April 26, 1984) is an American actor best known for his role as Zeke Byrd in the 1994 television series '' The Byrds of Paradise''. Early life and career O'Donohue was born Ryan Sean O'Donohue on April 26, 1984 in Pomo ...

and he now has a collar and green orange spots in the US version. * Baldwin: In the US animated version is a blue duck who sits on What-a-mess's head, and he is What-a-mess's companion and friend. In the UK animated version and books, Baldwin didn't have a name, nor is he noticed. He is also originally yellow, although there is a bluebird in the UK animated version and books that might be the inspiration to how Baldwin in the US version got his blue colour and personality. * What-a-Mess's mother – also known as The Duchess of Kinjan is a pedigree Afghan Hound. She is voiced by Charity James and given brown fur in the US version. * Family – the owners of What-a-Mess and his mother. They consist of the father, the mother, the son, and the daughter. Like most humans in the series, they are mostly seen from the neck down, with their faces slightly obscured. They are voiced by Michael Bell (as the father), Miriam Flynn (as the mother), Adam Hendershott (as the son), and

Debi Derryberry Debi Derryberry (''née'' Greenberg; born September 27, 1960) is an American voice actress who has provided voices for a number of animations and video games. She is best known for voicing Jimmy Neutron, the titular protagonist of the Jimmy Neutr ...

(as the daughter), in the US version. * Poppet – belonging to the father of the house's aunt, Poppet is a cute, clean, and yet troublemaking dog that What-a-Mess and his friends truly despise, making her first appearance in ''Super What-a-Mess''. * Archbishop of Canterbury – a scruffy dark blue dog with brown patches who What-A-Mess met and befriended in ''What-A-Mess Goes to the Seaside''. He is named this way because when What-A-Mess introduces himself with his breed name he sarcastically replies "Wotcher, cock, I'm the Archbishop of Canterbury!", which the naive pup takes as his actual name. His name was changed to Norton in the US version, and he was voiced by

Dana Hill Dana Hill (born Dana Lynne Goetz; May 6, 1964 – July 15, 1996) was an American actress. She was known for playing Audrey Griswold in '' National Lampoon's European Vacation'', and also known for her roles in ''Shoot the Moon'' and '' Cross Cre ...

. This was Hill's final voice acting role on American TV during her lifetime. * President of the United States – in one of the US version episodes where What-a-Mess got lost in town, he was helped by a dog voiced by

Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., serving as the offic ...

that had the same experience as the Archbishop of Canterbury in the UK version and books, where when What-a-Mess introduces himself with his breed name, he sarcastically replies "Oh really? And I'm the President of the United States!" which the naive pup takes as his actual name. * The Cat Next Door – also known as Felicia in the US animated version, is a brown

Siamese Cat The Siamese cat (; แมวสยาม, Maeo Sayam; แมววิเชียรมาศ, Maeo Wichien Maat) is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Asian cat. It derives from the Wichianmat landrace. The Siamese cat is one ...

that loves to tease What-A-Mess at times. In the US version, she was coloured blue and was voiced by

Jo Ann Harris Jo Ann Harris is an American actress known for her many film and television roles beginning in 1967. In the 1971 film '' The Beguiled'' she portrayed a 17-year-old who seduced Clint Eastwood's character. Her other films include '' Maryjane'' (1 ...

. * Cynthia – a hedgehog who What-A-Mess befriended in ''What-A-Mess Goes to School''. Her character was redesigned to become a mole named Ramona (voiced by

Candi Milo Candyce Anne Rose Milo (born January 9, 1961) Timestamps: (00:27:12-00:27:45) Milo states that she is "firmly 51". (00:06:40-00:06:47) Milo states that she was born in Palm Springs. (00:16:23-00:16:25) She says her birthday is in January. (00:48 ...

) in the US animated version because Hedgehogs aren't native to America. * Ryvita – appearing only in the books, Ryvita is a

ladybird Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles ...

that What-A-Mess and his friends befriended, and who first appeared in ''What-a-Mess Goes on Television''. She speaks so small that only Cynthia could understand her. * Esmeralda – a white mouse that belonged to the girl of the house, who only appeared in both the book, ''What-a-Mess and the Hairy Monster'', and an episode of the US version of the same name. In the US version, she was voiced by

Russi Taylor Russi Taylor (May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019) was an American voice actress. She was best remembered for voicing the character of Minnie Mouse in English from 1986 to 2019, and was married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, ...

. * Trash – only in the US animated version, Trash is a Bull Terrier who is a real troublemaker for What-A-Mess. His real name is Francis and is voiced by Joe Nipote. * Frank – an Old English Sheepdog that narrates the US animated version of What-A-Mess, voiced by

Books list

Large Books

# ''What-a-Mess'' # ''What-a-Mess The Good'' # ''What-a-Mess at the Seaside'' # ''What-a-Mess Goes to School'' # ''Prince What-a-Mess'' # ''Super What-a-Mess'' # ''What-a-Mess and the Cat Next Door'' # ''What-a-Mess Goes on Television'' # ''What-a-Mess and the Hairy Monster''

Small Books

Four Seasons # ''What-a-Mess in Spring'' # ''What-a-Mess in Summer'' # ''What-a-Mess in Autumn'' # ''What-a-Mess in Winter'' Four Square Meals # ''What-a-Mess has Breakfast'' # ''What-a-Mess has Lunch'' # ''What-a-Mess has Tea'' # ''What-a-Mess has Supper'' Mini Books # ''What-a-Mess has a Brain Wave'' # ''What-a-Mess and Little Poppet'' # ''What-a-Mess and a trip to the Vet'' # ''What-a-Mess the Beautiful'' # ''What-a-Mess Goes to Town'' # ''What-a-Mess Goes Camping''

Animated series

An animated series was made in the UK in 1979 by

Smallfilms Smallfilms is a British television production company that made animated TV programmes for children from 1959 until the 1980s. In 2014 the company began operating again, producing a new series of its most famous show, ''The Clangers'', but it b ...

. More episodes were made in the UK in 1990 by

Central Independent Television ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the ITV (TV network), Independent Television franchisee in Midlands, the English Midlands ...

, Link Licensing, and Bevanfield Films. A second, American version was made in 1995 by

DIC Productions L.P. DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions, sometimes stylized as DİC) was a French American film and television production company that ...

and aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

in the United States. It aired on YTV from 1995 to 1999 in Canada, and aired on

Spacetoon Spacetoon ( or ) is a pan-Arab free-to-air television channel that specializes in animation and children programs. It began broadcasting on 15 March 2000 in Bahrain TV, and it is currently headquartered in Dubai. The channel targets children ...

from 2004 to 2014 in the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. Both versions were narrated by Muir. Both animated series aired on the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

in Australia.

Episodes

Version 1 (Smallfilms, iTV / UK series)

Version 2 (DIC Productions, L.P. / US series)

Home releases

UK series

* ''What-A-Mess: 5 Hilarious Adventures'' – "What-a-Mess Goes to the Seaside", "What-a-Mess Goes to School", "Prince What-a-Mess", "Super What-a-Mess", "What-a-Mess Keeps Cool" (Extra Episodes – "What-a-Mess and Cynthia the Hedgehog", "What-a-Mess Has a Brain Wave!") * ''What-A-Mess: Small VHS Sample'' – "What-a-Mess and Cynthia the Hedgehog", "What-a-Mess Has a Brain Wave!", "What-a-Mess and the Cat Next Door" * ''What-A-Mess: Cat & Seaside'' (DVD) – consisting of the entire UK series.

US series

In October 1996,

Buena Vista Home Video Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) is the home entertainment distribution arm of the Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...

under the DIC Toon-Time Video imprint released two VHS tapes called ''Monsters, Goblins, and Ghosts, Oh my!'' and ''Here Comes Santa Paws''. The former contained the segments "What-A-Mess and the Hairy Monster", "Trick Or Treat", and "My Tea Time with Frank". The latter contained the ''Santa What-a-Mess'' special. In November 2003, Sterling Entertainment released a VHS/DVD called ''Christmas Mess'', containing the ''Santa What-a-Mess'' special as well as the segments "Trash's Wonderful Life", "The Thanksgiving Turkey", Snowbound", "All Around the Mallberry Bush", "It's Raining Cats and Dogs" and "At the Movies", with the DVD version containing the segments "His Majesty, Prince What-a-Mess", "Ultimate What-a-Mess" and "This Hydrant is Mine" as bonus episodes. The DVD was re-issued by NCircle Entertainment in 2007.

References

External links